The Light That Has Lighted the World.2

"And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God." 

--Jesus

It is easy to forget, overlook, or, shockingly, to deny the

destructive nature of darkness. Darkness can't draw people together, it can only leave empty groping souls bumping, fearfully and angrily, into one another.

The world is reeling from the effects of darkness.  Its ultimate impact is in driving people away from each other!

Politicians polarize, terrorists terrorize, refugees flee, media manipulates, racists rant, militants foment, socialists demonize, bureaucrats botch, abortionists destroy, perverts prey, rich rule, poverty plunders.

It's also easy to forget OR hard to comprehend that there are those who love darkness and it's debilitating destruction. Wolves in sheep's clothing, mentored children of hell's ambition, vipers, snakes, deadly serpents seeking their own glory and power. 

How then should we - followers of Jesus - live in response to the darkness? Be true to the light!

"Every disciple of the Lord must be a preacher of righteousness.In the darkness each soul is alone; in the light the souls are a family. The lamp that the Lord kindles is a lamp that can will to shine, a soul that must shine. Its true relation to the spirits around it—to God and its fellows, is its light. Then only does it fully shine, when its love, which is its light, shows it to all the souls within its scope, and all those souls to each other, and so does its part to bring all together toward one." (MacDonald, see below)

On social media:
-provoke, not to insult and anger, but to love and good deeds.

At work:
--be excellent in speech, conduct, love and purity. Love the light you see in others, don't condemn the darkness.

In public:
--be honest & trustworthy. Lead, follow or get out of the way.

In private:
--live with a conscience as open & clear as the skies above. Be a tenderhearted considerate roommate, husband, wife, parent, son or daughter. Bear burdens, share blessings.

Always remember that the work of Light & Love in and through you is to draw all men to Jesus and the great family of God!

"Take heed to your light that it be such, that it so shine, that in you men may see the Father—may see your works so good, so plainly his, that they recognize his presence in you, and thank him for you.' 

MacDonald, George. Hope of the Gospel (p. 65). 

Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition.

The Promise Of The Spirit.3

"I will not leave you comfortless. Now it is necessary for you that I go away; for if I do not leave, the Comforter, the very breath of God, will not come to dwell among you. If I depart, I will send him to you.

When he has come, he will reveal to the world what is sin, and what is righteousness and judgment. 

Sin, because you do not believe in me; 

Righteousness, because I go to my Father, and you will not see me; 

Judgment, because the oppressive power of the prince of this world has been broken."

--Jesus

The number one movie in the USA now is Lone Survivor, the story of Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell's dedicated effort to give an account to the heroism of his friends lost in battle. Trying to squeeze the events that shape a man's life into a ninety minute film is like writing his two paragraph obituary; unfortunately, its about the most an average person is willing to endure.

Endurance is the hallmark of the training it takes to be a 
SEAL and is the reason why average men don't make it.

Truthfully, not many even way above average men make it.  Of the 180 men who started the training in Luttrell's class only 32 completed it!  "Hell Week", a monstrously grueling week marked by explosions, gunfire, panic, sleeplessness, hunger, frigid cold, pain, danger, hallucinations, and exhaustion is designed to separate the pretenders from the defenders. A bell is situated near the various exercises and is used when a DOR (dropped on request) rings the bell and sets down his helmet next to the previous man who has signaled enough.  

"That line of lonely hard hats was a stark reminder not only of what this place could do to a man but also of the special private glory it could bestow on those who would not give in.  It drove me onward...I'd rather die than surrender." --Marcus Luttrell

Honestly, I believe that quote from Marcus describes the kind of comfort the Holy Spirit ultimately is sent to give us: not coddling from the difficulties of life but the internal inspiration that endurance through those difficulties is producing something in us of eternal value!

Now if we are honest with ourselves, don't we "ring the bell" almost daily? Jesus, the Captain of our Faith, takes us through grueling obstacle courses to reveal what in us is just not right...let's call it what it is: Sin.  Just yesterday my integrity and courage were tested in the course of a business transaction.  I didn't need a bible study to know I was wrong, I didn't need to argue that Jesus was unfair, misunderstanding, too harsh or demanding, I needed to renew my pledge to do the right thing to the Man who is our Righteousness.

"If you want to know righteousness, love a righteous man."  I love The Righteous One, whom, even though I've never seen him, I know him because I know something about righteousness and truth and love.  How?  Because He is constantly teaching me what it means!

Are you glad we have men of the caliber of a Marcus Luttrell defending the principles of our constitutional way of life?  Men who, because of the rigorous training and testing, can make capable judgement in the most demanding circumstances against a powerful and relentless enemy bent on our destruction.

May we have the wisdom and commitment, as followers of Jesus Christ, to recognize that although we have a powerful and relentless enemy bent on destruction of the soul, we are being fully trained & tested to endure and overcome!

"I have been initiated into the company of those whose work is to send sin out of the world, beginning with myself."